Monday, September 19, 2011

09/19/2011
Just when the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas (BSP) has finally found its bearings, certain quarters are
again dead set on pushing it off track. Misgivings aside, I have lately
begun to appreciate certain BSP top officials’ burgeoning initiative to
get the management of our currency and debt back along the lines of
national welfare and interest. The BSP just recently recommended to
Malacañang its preference for borrowing locally (instead of
internationally) to accelerate the prepayment of debts and to “help
temper the appreciation of the peso” vis-à-vis stimulating demand for
the dollar.

The country’s Gross International Reserves (GIR)
jumped 51 percent from $49.95 billion to $75.6 billion year-on-year,
with our foreign debt standing at around $60 billion. The Philippines is
thus awash with dollars as well as in loanable funds in the Special
Deposit Account (SDA) maintained by the BSP, all waiting to be mobilized
in lieu of more foreign borrowings in the rolling over of debts or in
the funding of PeNoy’s public-private partnership (PPP) projects in
infrastructure and others.

The BSP is picking up the wisdom of the
way in which many in the private sector are handling their own dollar
debts. While the PeNoy government’s prepayment of foreign loans slipped
in the first half of the year, with prepayments of medium and long-term
foreign loans summed up to $530.9 million or 3.19 percent lower than the
$548.4 million recorded in the same period last year, newspapers report
that “All prepayments were made by the private sector.”

We have
been reading of different major private corporations prepaying foreign
loans. And for anyone seeking to avoid the burden and volatility of
interest payments amid the currency crisis, this is the only way to go.

Unfortunately,
Cesar Purisima (PeNoy’s Finance secretary and also Gloria Arroyo’s),
gave the already scheduled prepayment of debts his “thumbs down.” How
are we then to perceive such stonewalling of the proposal that many
concerned sectors of our economy, led by the BSP, push for?

OFWs,
being the largest contributors to the survival and viability of the
Philippine economy, have remitted up to $21 billion annually as of last
count. Yet the dollars they send to their families, coursed through the
BSP, are yielding fewer and fewer pesos; this, as the US currency is
being propped up by Purisima’s policy of accumulating more dollars in
our vaults.

The export sector, which has just lost another 10
percent in value in the latest reported data, has also been howling in
pain over the massive weakening of exports due to the strengthening
peso. The BPOs, including call centers and other service providers, have
also lost half of their income due to the peso’s appreciation.
Purisima,
in his defense, remarked, “Of course we are amenable to debt
prepayments but it is a question of opportunity because bulk of our
debts is publicly traded already and if their prices are very high it
will not make sense for us to prepay… All of these are long-term and
very low cost, so it does not make sense at this point to prepay also.”

In
response, this was what our Wednesday radio co-host Liza Gaspar, a
young UP finance graduate, had to say: “Purisima seems to be looking at
the issue only in financial terms; he seems to forget the more positive
and concrete impact of cutting the debt (is) in terms of savings on
interest payments and principal that could be redirected toward
productive enterprises.”

Gaspar clearly makes more sense than the
one-time SGV and Hyatt 10 head. Still, we shouldn’t fault Purisima too
much as he recognizes only the foreign financial interests as his
bosses.

If PeNoy has any idea on the matter at all, which isn’t
likely, the conflict from within his financial team seems to be erupting
right under his nose. Well, it’s not like he has taken any interest in
it at all, which is tragic, as the matter of finance has become the
central component in the governance of nations.

Former President
Joseph Estrada, who admits to being a novice on international finance,
says he resolved such issues during his time by getting members of his
financial team face each other off in serious debate while he listened.
Then, if a consensus is not achieved, a vote is soon called. But for
PeNoy, it seems that, like many other things under his governance, he
has allowed Purisima to simply call the shots, even as the Finance
secretary already seems to be sabotaging the Philippine peso in the
course of propping up the US dollar.

Of course, there is another
dimension to the financial and currency issue that is beyond the scope
of this column — the restoration of “currency and capital controls” as
well as the “nationalization” of the entire banking sector, which the
country had in the time of President Carlos Garcia. It is the final
solution to the perennial problem of peso volatility that perpetually
rocks the economy. That will be the next stage of the debate.

(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino/Radyo OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6
p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Saturday, 8:15 to 9 p.m., with
replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8 on “WTC’s Building 7:
The Key to Exposing the ‘Inside Job’”; visit
http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio
archives)

09/19/2011
The strike called by jeepney
drivers and operators today is expected to be a mere preview of bigger
protest movements expected as a result of high prices under the Noynoy
presidency. Holding the protestors accountable for their
responsibilities and their actions’ supposed effects on commuters is a
wrong move that will backfire on Noynoy. It may even encourage more
people to join the next scheduled protest rally.

High prices are
not the problem of only jeepney drivers but every ordinary man on the
street and threats on one group protesting the spiraling cost of basic
commodities and services will be taken as Noynoy’s failure to connect
with reality.

Representatives of public transport groups met with Noynoy last Friday
and evidently Noynoy offered nothing to soothe the feelings of
complaining drivers and operators. The immediate response from Noy was a
reminder about the responsibilities attached to franchises, implying
that these may be revoked for those who will join today’s protest
actions..... MORE

Same time this year

09/19/2011
Predictably, the House of
Representatives passed on second reading the 2012 national budget as is,
and the way Malacañang wants it — no cuts with everything remaining as
Noynoy says it should be.

Chances are high that the Senate will do
the same, or at least, Noynoy allies will again resort to stating that
the controversial items are to be resolved in the bicameral committee,
which means that the budget will pass as is, because the Noynoy allies
will be dominating the bicam and do nothing to resolve the controversial
provisions, such as Noynoy’s control over the judiciary funds, as well
as hiring funds of the other constitutional offices, despite its
unconstitutional flavor.

But what if the majority of the senators,
who are non-Liberal Party members, insist on questioning the budget and
not moving to pass it?

If such becomes the scenario, the bill
gets frozen in the Senate, which means that at a certain time, the old
budget becomes operational, which may be just what Noynoy and his Butch
Abad really want to happen, next year leading straight into an election
year..... MORE

Human rights and opposition
groups say Singapore needs to keep up with the times and abolish the
Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for detention without trial
and is seen by critics as an instrument to stifle dissent.

In a
surprise move, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said last week his
government would scrap the ISA and ease other laws perceived as curbs on
civil liberties, including protest rules and annual newspaper
licensing.

But Singapore insists the ISA, which was used against
leftists in the past and suspected Islamic extremists in recent years,
remains relevant and maintains that media regulations are needed to
preserve social cohesion..... MORE

09/19/2011
Energy Secretary Jose Rene
Almendras and his deputy, Jay Layug, should stop pretending they cannot
do anything about the unabated increase in oil prices. They can. They
should stop insisting that under a deregulated environment, government
is so helpless in looking into possible malpractices of the Big
Businesses they are supposed to monitor (manage or regulate may be too
harsh or drastic for these guys to bear) to ensure that they do not
engage in all kinds of price gouging or run roughshod over the interests
of the public they are supposed to serve. The more reason they should.
For if truth be told, even if the businesses in the energy sector, i.e.,
oil and power, to name just two of the more controversial and high
profile, are so powerful and well entrenched, government can do
something to moderate their profit taking. They can and in fact they
should. That is if these guys tasked to do this are as dedicated and
committed as P-Noy is in working for their real bosses — the Filipino
people..... MORE

In
its last six months in power, the Arroyo administration spent almost
P7.5 billion of taxpayers’ money for a “farm-to-market” road project
that did not even have a work program, Sen. Franklin Drilon said
yesterday.
Drilon added the oversight committee on public
expend-itures uncovered these alleged fund releases to the Department of
Agriculture (DA) following the submission of various agencies of their
respective liquidation reports recently.

“We are deter-mining if
the funds went to a ‘farm-to-pocket roads,’ ‘roads to my farm’ project
or nothing has happened at all,” Drilon said.

Former Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, currently detained
for his alleged involvement in the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre,
also had squealed about Arroyo receiving around P200 million in
kickbacks from farm-to-market road projects in 2008 and 2009..... MORE

Senate
Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III yesterday revealed that the biggest
manufacturer of contraceptives, including condoms, is the alleged
sponsor of an international group that allegedly unleashed P25-million
lobby funds to push Congress’ approval of the controversial Reproductive
Health (RH) bill.

The upper chamber leader, during a radio
interview, identified a company called DKT as one of the firms he is
claiming to be funding the purported campaign for the approval of the
measure.

“DKT is the biggest supporter of the International
Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), which happens to have affiliates
such as the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines FPOP),
Likhaan organization...,” he told dzBB radio.

The said company is the local distributor of Trust condoms in the Philippines, the Senate leader said..... MORE

09/19/2011
Illegal recruitment firms
continue to offer non-existent jobs to Filipinos in strife-torn
Afghanistan and Iraq amid an existing government deployment ban in the
two countries.

Recruitment firms have expanded their operations in
some Philippine provinces and in the United Arab Emirates two weeks
after Malacañang announced a partial lifting of the ban, said recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani.

Only
those Filipinos currently employed in Afghanistan and Iraq will be
allowed to work there until their contracts are terminated by their
employers.

“The deployment of new workers to both countries is
still banned,” Geslani stressed. “The public is hereby warned that
recruitment agencies are not offering new jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan
and be wary of illegal recruiters offering non-existent jobs in both
countries.”... MORE

Far
Eastern University averted a major endgame collapse with sheer tenacity
off the boards in its last offensive to turn back a hard-fighting
Adamson U, 78-74, yesterday and earn the right to face Ateneo de Manila
in the Finals of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Smart
Araneta Coliseum.

With the Falcons threatening to complete a
splendid rally from 11 points down going into the last two minutes, the
Tamaraws protected a 74-72 lead with three offensive rebounds, allowing
them to waste the remaining 51.2 seconds and preserve the win fashioned
out before a jampacked Cubao arena.

Thus, the less-seeded
Tamaraws, who had to prevail over the Falcons twice, return to the
Finals against the Blue Eagles on Saturday and will seek their first
UAAP title since their Grand Slam run from 2003 to 2005 during the
Arwind Santos era..... MORE

09/19/2011
Senate President Pro Tempore
Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada sought the support to his colleagues in the
upper chamber to approve Senate Bill 2946 which confers civil service
eligibility upon members of municipal and city councilors and provincial
board members.

09/19/2011
BUNAWAN, Agusan del Sur — A
monster crocodile which is reputedly the world’s largest is the star
attraction at its own nature park which opened in the Philippines this
weekend, weeks after the beast’s capture.

People are already
paying P20 (46 cents) to enter the compound in the town of Bunawan for a
look at the 21-foot (6.4-meter) male saltwater crocodile which is
believed to have killed two people.

Bunawan Mayor Edwin Elorde
hopes to have another attraction soon: a reportedly even larger
crocodile that was sighted by residents of this largely rural town on
the southern island of Mindanao.

“They saw it with their own eyes,
it was bigger. Our estimates are that it would be 25 to 30 feet long
with body width of around four feet,” he told reporters..... MORE

09/19/2011
Before the Christmas season
officially arrives, an equally grand and colorful celebration is slated
to take place this October 1 and 2 at the booming Newport City in
Villamor, Pasay City. Talulot Festival, which started in 2007, is a
vibrant and wondrous spectacle of music, dance and local talents. Close
to 2,500 people attend the Pontifical Mass and festivities every year.
On its fifth year, the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines and
Magnificat Ventures Corporation, partnered with the City of Pasay,
Barangay 183, Resorts World Manila, and the Newport City Estate
Association. Talulot is named after the Filipino word for petal, in
honor of St. Therese of the Child Jesus who is also known as God’s
Little Flower. Devotees of Saint Therese believe that she sends a flower
or flowers as a sign of granted prayer..... MORESource: The Daily Tribune

09/19/2011
Energy Secretary Jose Rene
Almendras and his deputy, Jay Layug, should stop pretending they cannot
do anything about the unabated increase in oil prices. They can. They
should stop insisting that under a deregulated environment, government
is so helpless in looking into possible malpractices of the Big
Businesses they are supposed to monitor (manage or regulate may be too
harsh or drastic for these guys to bear) to ensure that they do not
engage in all kinds of price gouging or run roughshod over the interests
of the public they are supposed to serve. The more reason they should.
For if truth be told, even if the businesses in the energy sector, i.e.,
oil and power, to name just two of the more controversial and high
profile, are so powerful and well entrenched, government can do
something to moderate their profit taking. They can and in fact they
should. That is if these guys tasked to do this are as dedicated and
committed as P-Noy is in working for their real bosses — the Filipino
people..... MORE

09/19/2011
Energy Secretary Jose Rene
Almendras and his deputy, Jay Layug, should stop pretending they cannot
do anything about the unabated increase in oil prices. They can. They
should stop insisting that under a deregulated environment, government
is so helpless in looking into possible malpractices of the Big
Businesses they are supposed to monitor (manage or regulate may be too
harsh or drastic for these guys to bear) to ensure that they do not
engage in all kinds of price gouging or run roughshod over the interests
of the public they are supposed to serve. The more reason they should.
For if truth be told, even if the businesses in the energy sector, i.e.,
oil and power, to name just two of the more controversial and high
profile, are so powerful and well entrenched, government can do
something to moderate their profit taking. They can and in fact they
should. That is if these guys tasked to do this are as dedicated and
committed as P-Noy is in working for their real bosses — the Filipino
people..... MORE